If you've ever been caught in a traffic stop or witnessed police officers searching someone's property, you know how intimidating these situations can be. While search and seizure are tools law enforcement officers use to investigate and prosecute crimes, they can also be confusing and frightening for those experiencing it firsthand.
Understanding your rights and protections during searches and seizures can help ensure that law enforcement officers act within the law and that your rights are protected. Keep reading to learn more about your Fourth Amendment rights, and be prepared if you ever find yourself in such a situation.
What Is A Search And Seizure
A search and seizure is a legal procedure where law enforcement officers search a person, property, or location and seize any evidence of a crime. Law enforcement officers must follow specific procedures to ensure that the investigation is conducted lawfully and that any evidence obtained can be used in court.
How A Search And Seizure Is Conducted
Search and seizures involve searching a person, their property, or belongings and seizing any evidence relevant to the case. However, the process must be conducted lawfully and with respect for the person's constitutional rights.
Before conducting a search and seizure, law enforcement officers need a search warrant unless certain exceptions apply. A search warrant is a legal document that authorizes law enforcement officers to conduct a search or seizure. Only a judge may issue one. Under Florida Statute 933.07(1), the judge issues the warrant after examining the application and the proofs submitted and finding that probable cause exists, and the warrant must describe the property or person to be searched and the property to be seized. A prosecutor cannot issue a search warrant.
Law enforcement officers may use various techniques and tools to gather evidence during a search and seizure. These techniques include investigations of individuals, canine searches, and forensic searches. However, these techniques must be conducted in a way that is consistent with the Fourth Amendment.
Types Of Search And Seizure Exceptions
There are several exceptions where officers don’t need a warrant or probable cause. Individuals may sometimes consent to law enforcement officers searching their person, vehicle, or property without a warrant or probable cause. Consent must be voluntary, however, and not obtained by coercion or deception.
Plain view applies when the officer is lawfully in the place from which the item is seen and the incriminating character of the item is immediately apparent. Exigent circumstances apply when there is no time to get a warrant, for example to prevent immediate harm, to stop evidence being destroyed or to pursue a fleeing suspect.
Florida has its own stop-and-frisk statute. Under Florida Statute 901.151(2), an officer may temporarily detain a person when the circumstances reasonably indicate that the person has committed, is committing or is about to commit a criminal offense. A temporary detention is not an arrest. Section 901.151(3) limits it to no longer than is reasonably necessary and to the place where it began or the immediate vicinity, and section 901.151(4) requires the person to be released if no probable cause to arrest appears.
Search And Seizure Cases
The laws governing search and seizure in criminal cases significantly impact the outcome of court proceedings because they determine whether evidence obtained through a search can be used against the defendant.
How Search And Seizure Laws Apply To Criminal Cases
Search and seizure laws determine the admissibility of evidence law enforcement officers obtain.
The court determines the admissibility of evidence obtained during a search and seizure during a pretrial hearing. If the court determines the evidence was obtained lawfully, it may be admitted during trial. However, if it’s determined that the evidence was obtained unlawfully, it may be suppressed and cannot be used as evidence.
Search And Seizures During DUIs
The interplay between search and seizure laws and DUI cases is significant in Florida and can greatly affect the course of a case. These laws aim to protect individuals from potential governmental intrusion while giving law enforcement the tools necessary to maintain public safety. While there are regional differences, Florida courts generally recognize that motorists have some privacy on the road.
Several factors can still legally justify a warrantless search in a DUI case. For example, visible signs of intoxication or obvious evidence may indicate an unlawful act and justify a warrantless search.
Florida-Specific Search And Seizure Laws
Florida adds its own procedures on top of the Fourth Amendment. One is the knock-and-announce rule. Under Florida Statute 933.09, an officer executing a search warrant may break open an outer door, an inner door or a window only after giving due notice of the officer's authority and purpose and being refused admittance.
The pat-down is a separate question from the stop. Florida Statute 901.151(5) permits a search only where the officer has probable cause to believe the person detained is armed with a dangerous weapon and therefore a threat to safety, and limits the search to disclosing that weapon. Florida Statute 901.151(6) adds its own suppression rule: evidence seized in a search under this section is inadmissible in any Florida court unless the search complied with subsections (2) through (5).
The fruit of the poisonous tree doctrine is federal rather than Florida-specific. It comes from Wong Sun v. United States, 371 U.S. 471 (1963), and it excludes not only the item seized unlawfully but the later evidence the unlawful search led police to. Florida applies it because Article I, section 12 of the Florida Constitution requires the state search and seizure right to be construed in conformity with the Fourth Amendment as interpreted by the United States Supreme Court, and makes evidence inadmissible here if it would be inadmissible under those decisions.
When Does It Become Illegal Search And Seizure?
The Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution serves as the foundation for these government protections, ensuring that law enforcement agencies conduct their searches reasonably and lawfully.
Illegal Search And Seizures
An illegal search and seizure occurs when an unreasonable intrusion by the government violates a person's right to privacy. This often means that law enforcement overstepped its bounds by conducting searches without obtaining a proper warrant unless there was a valid exception.
Not every search is unlawful. A search is unlawful when the state cannot point to a valid warrant or to a recognized exception such as consent, plain view, exigent circumstances, a search incident to a lawful arrest, or a lawful frisk for weapons under Florida Statute 901.151(5). The remedy is a motion to suppress, filed before trial, asking the judge to keep the evidence out.
What To Do If You’re Arrested After An Illegal Search And Seizure
If you’re arrested after an unlawful search and seizure in Florida, it’s important that you take immediate action to protect your rights. Here are important steps to follow:
- Contact a criminal defense attorney who has experience with search and seizure as soon as possible.
- Learn and assert your constitutional rights during the arrest and subsequent proceedings. These include the right to remain silent, the right to an attorney, and the right not to incriminate yourself.
- Keep a detailed record of the events leading up to and during the arrest, including any violations of your rights or misconduct by law enforcement officers. This documentation can be valuable evidence to challenge the legality of the search and seizure.
- Gather any physical evidence or documents that could support your case or reveal misconduct by law enforcement officers. Document how this evidence relates to illegal search and seizure.
- With the help of your attorney, challenge the admissibility of evidence obtained through an illegal search and seizure. Your attorney will review the search and seizure circumstances and look for violations of your Fourth Amendment rights.
- If you believe that law enforcement officers acted unlawfully in the search and seizure, you should file a complaint with the appropriate agency or seek redress through other means.
Hire A Criminal Defense Attorney Today
If you feel that you've been subjected to an unlawful search and seizure, whether in a DUI stop or another encounter with law enforcement, the Weinstein Legal Team can help you understand the law and your rights and provide you with the advice and representation you need.
Contact us now to start your free case review, or give us a call at (954) 845-0505 to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation. Our attorneys will look at how the search was conducted, whether the warrant or the exception the state relies on holds up, and whether a motion to suppress is worth filing.
